What's New In Dart's iPod #68 AKA The Starbury Edition

It's been another crazy week here at Poisonous Paragraphs as we begin the countdown to my blogging hiatus. I spent quite a fair amount of time doing the followup blog to my "Black Like Me" blog and as a result of the long hours it took to research, plan, arrange and write it it pushed back pretty much all my other posts for a few days including this review blog. Another problem was the lack of big name projects to review. The Jadakiss jawn should materialize sometime this week, though.

Another thing that was in the works for months that just recently materialized was the buyout that brought Stephon Marbury to the Boston Celtics to bolster their bench along with Mikki Moore for the stretch run. They've won one game vs. the Pacers where he played well and lost another vs. the Pistons where they played like shit. Next game is March 4th @ TD Banknorth Garden vs. the New Jersey Nets.

This week I'll be reviewing three new projects that recently hit the 'net/bloggerverse and/or will be landing on store shelves soon in the following order: Grandmaster Flash "The Bridge: Concept Of A Culture", Prefuse 73 "Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian" and TiRon & DJ Low Key "Ketchup". For those of you new to this blog, I don’t rate albums on a scale or assign them a numerical value out of 5 or 10, instead I merely answer the all important question of “Is it worth buying or not?”. Here's how my "Cop It Or Not" ratings system breaks down below:

Oh No! This CD is a drink coaster/table balancer/doorstop/gerbil/hamster room divider/frisbee/discus/makeshift shield/last ditch choice for a visor/alternate shuriken choice. Sell this shit to whoever is dumb enough to buy it from you.

Maeby (Maybe)! Depending on your own set of personal preferences you might like this joint. Give it a listen first to see if it's in your lane or not.

Mos Def! Cop the album when it drops...'Nuff said.


Best Joints: Bounce Back is the lone track that sounds like something you could listen to without wanting to turn this CD into a flying object. (Thanks DJ Scratch!)

Hot Garbage: Shine All Day, We Speak Hip Hop, What If, Tribute To The Breakdancer, I Got Sumthin' To Say, Bronx Bombers are all meh. Here Comes My DJ, Swagger, Grown & Sexy, When I Get There, Can I Take You Higher, Unpredictable, Those Chix, Zuka The Sound and Oh Man are flaming hot garbage.

Dart's Take: I love Grandmaster Flash on the wheels but NOT behind the boards. I heard far too many excellent DJ/producer based albums last year and this LP was light years from being as good as any of them. Even the choices for guest emcees were headscratchers, I mean you're Grandmaster Flash...get some people that can spit. Try to get some ill beats. Do something, damn! This album sounds like what Keith Richards looks like. Oh no status has been earned.



Best Joints: 29 tracks range from :14 to 4:16 with weird ass names I refuse to all type out, this is a tough project to review in this particular format.

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: If you're already a fan of experimental instrumental music/Hip Hop like Dabyre, Prefuse 73, Harmonic 313 or Ras G then you should definitely give this new album a listen. If this isn't normally your thing then you should probably avoid it and wait for an instrumental album that's more Hip Hoppy or sounds like head nod material that you could possibly freestyle over. This isn't that type of instrumental album but Prefuse 73 fans won't be disappointed. I give it a recommended maybe.




Best Joints: Still Never Happy, Go Ronnie, The High, Throwing My Money, 3 Drink Minimum, So Called Twenties, Def '82, Yeah You Crazy, Sydney, Quitter and Shine On

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: TiRon once again proves that he's one of the new emcees on the scene that's worth checkin' for by making one of the most enjoyable mixtapes of '09. You can let this entire joint play from beginning to end without once feeling the need to skip tracks. TiRon, DJ Low Key, Ayomari, Blu, Buff1 and Mibbs of Pacific Division make "Ketchup" a must download project. Get it here now. I give it a mos def.




Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept):


Projects I'm Looking Forward To Reviewing Once They Leak...I Mean Drop in 2009:

Rhymefest-El Che
Jay Electronica-Act II: Patents Of Nobility
Jay Electronica-Abracadabra: Let There Be Light
Royce Da 5'9"-Street Hop
Big Boi-Sir Luscious Leftfoot
Mos Def-The Ecstatic LP
Royce Da 5'9"-Street Hop
Magnif & J Dilla-Detroit Royalty
Blu-God Is Good
Sean Price, Guilty Simpson & Black Milk-Random Axe
Method Man & Redman-Blackout 2
Redman-Muddy Waters 2
B.O.B.-The Adventures Of B.O.B.
Billy Danze-Behind Gatez
AG & O.C.-Oasis: Together Brothers
Baatin-Titus
Phat Kat and Elzhi are Cold Steel
The Beatnuts-The Planet Of The Crates
Skepta-Microphone Champion
Ski Beatz-Half Man, Half Amazing
Evidence-Cats & Dogs
Eminem-The Relapse
Cage-Depart From Me

Let's go Celtics!

One.